Advocates, policymakers, and researchers have predicted that changes in the welfare system brought about by the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 would increase the number of children who are abused and neglected, referred to child protective services, and placed in foster care. This study examined how welfare reform has affected child welfare caseloads, summarizing trends in caseload data before and after welfare reform. It focused on testimonial data from various state and local respondents about the effects of welfare reform they have observed on families' involvement with the child welfare system, and it documented research efforts underway to study the effects of welfare reform on child welfare. Overall, there was no evidence to suggest that federal welfare reform to date has had a significant effect on child welfare caseloads. Caseload data and testimony of over 350 state and local respondents supported this conclusion. The study identified potential areas of concern for policymakers related to: specific populations that may be vulnerable; unmet training needs of Temporary Assistance for Needy Families and child welfare agency staff; the potential effects of additional sanctions and time limits; and the scope of the research underway and planned to assess the effects of welfare reform. An appendix presents findings from other welfare reform studies. (Contains 60 references.) (SM)

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